How To Use Custom Templates in YACSS - Custom Templates page explained
The Custom Templates page is where you upload and manage your own custom-designed HTML page templates for use when generating websites in YACSS. Instead of being limited to the built-in templates, you can design your own pages in any HTML editor and upload them here. YACSS then uses your uploaded HTML files as the visual shell for generated websites, replacing the template variables you placed inside them with the real project content at generation time.
Each custom template you create can consist of up to six different page types — a homepage, a sitemap page, an about us page, a privacy policy page, a news list page, and a news article detail page. Only the homepage file is required. The rest are optional and only used if the corresponding features are enabled in your project. Once uploaded, your template appears as a card in the template grid with a thumbnail preview, and it becomes available for selection when generating a new website in masspage builder.
Before you start, you should have your custom HTML files ready with the correct YACSS template variables placed where you want dynamic content to appear.
Click On Sidebar Custom Templates
In the sidebar, click on Custom Templates to open the Custom Templates page. This is where all of your uploaded templates appear as cards in a grid.
Click Add Template
Click the Add Template button in the top right corner. This opens a popup form where you upload your HTML files and configure the template for the first time.
Template Name (Required)
Enter a descriptive name for this template so you can identify it later when selecting it during website generation. For example "Modern Blue Layout" or "Client Agency Template 2025." This name appears on the template card in the grid and in the template selector when generating a website.
Template Image (Required)
Upload a screenshot or preview image of your template so you can visually identify it in the template grid and in the template selector on the generation form. The image is displayed as a thumbnail on the template card. Any standard image format is accepted such as JPG or PNG. This image is purely for identification purposes and does not appear on any generated pages.
HomePage .html (Required)
This section is where you upload the actual HTML files for each page type. Each file should be a complete HTML page with the appropriate YACSS template variables placed where you want the dynamic content to appear. You can download the variable reference sheet for each page type using the Download link next to each field — the CSV lists every available variable and exactly how to use it in your HTML.
HomePage (.html) — Required. Upload the HTML file for the main content pages of your website. This is the primary template used for every page in the site unless a more specific template file is provided below. Your homepage HTML file should contain the content variables such as {meta_title}, {content1} through {content7}, the navigation variables, and the footer variables. Click the Download Homepage Variables link next to this field to download the full reference list before building your template.
Sitemap Page .html (Optional)
Upload the HTML file for the sitemap page. If your project has HTML sitemap generation enabled, YACSS will use this file to build the sitemap.html page. Your file should include the {sitemap_content} variable where you want the list of all URLs to appear, along with the standard navigation and footer variables. If you do not upload a file here the sitemap page will not be generated.
About Us Page .html (Optional)
Upload the HTML file for the About Us page. If About Us page generation is enabled in your project settings, YACSS uses this file to build the about-us.html page. Your file should include the {aboutus_content} variable where you want the about us text to appear, along with any embeds and standard navigation and footer variables. If no file is uploaded here no About Us page will be generated even if the feature is enabled.
Privacy Page .html (Optional)
Upload the HTML file for the Privacy Policy page. YACSS uses this file to generate the privacy-policy.html page when the Privacy Policy feature is enabled in your project. Your file should include {privacy_content} where the policy text should appear, along with the navigation and footer variables.
News Page .html (Optional)
Upload the HTML file for the news listing page. This is the page that shows a summary list of all news articles. Your file should include {news_content} where the article listing should appear.
News Detail Page .html (Optional)
Upload the HTML file for individual news article pages. This is the template used to display a single full news article. Your file should include the article-specific variables such as {news_headline}, {news_image}, {news_author}, {news_date}, and {news_description}.
Click Upload
Click Upload to submit the form and save the new template. All uploaded HTML files and the template image are stored on the server. Once saved, the template immediately appears in the template grid and becomes available for selection when generating a website.
YACSS Template Variables — Full Reference Guide
When you build a custom HTML template for use in YACSS, you use special placeholder variables written inside curly braces — for example {meta_title} or {logo}. When YACSS generates a website it replaces each variable with the real content from your project settings: the company name, images, page content, links, and so on. This allows you to design one template that works dynamically across hundreds of generated pages.
Each page type in YACSS — Homepage, Sitemap, About Us, Privacy Policy, News List, and News Article — has its own set of variables. The navigation and footer variables are the same across all page types, so you only need to learn them once.
Navigation Variables (Shared Across All Pages)
Footer Variables (Shared Across All Pages)
Homepage Template Variables
The homepage template has the richest set of variables since it carries the main page content, images, and widgets.
Sitemap Template Variables
Uses all the standard navigation and footer variables plus one page-specific variable: {sitemap_content} — outputs all the sitemap URLs for the website as a formatted list. YACSS handles all the link formatting automatically.
About Us Template Variables
Uses all the standard navigation and footer variables plus three page-specific variables:
Privacy Policy Template Variables
Uses all the standard navigation and footer variables plus one page-specific variable: {privacy_content} — outputs the full Privacy Policy content.
News List Template Variables
Uses all the standard navigation and footer variables plus one page-specific variable: {news_content} — outputs all the news article listings, including headlines, images, and summaries. YACSS handles all the individual article card markup automatically.
News Article Template Variables
Used for individual news article pages. Uses all the standard navigation and footer variables plus:
Template Homepage Example
A full working example of a homepage template file, showing how the navigation, header, content blocks, special sections, contact form, embeds, and footer variables all fit together in one HTML file. Use this as a starting point for building your own homepage template.